The debate over a proposed Islamic center a few blocks from Ground Zero in New York City has raised the question of how appropriate it would be to honor the victims of 9/11 with Muslim religious practices. But the controversy ignores the fact that the victims included those who observe the Islamic faith, and their families should be allowed to express their grief in a manner of their choosing.

Jerry Moore

Shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks, word began circulating that police wanted to speak with Mohammad Salman Hamdani about his activities at the World Trade Center.

And why not? This Pakistani-born Muslim had studied biochemistry and worked as a lab technician while attending college. After the Twin Towers collapsed, people became suspicious when Hamdani failed to report to work and had gone missing.

It turned out that Hamdani was involved in the events at the World Trade Center that morning. As an emergency medical technician, he made his way to the Twin Towers to assist the injured.

Rumors that he was being sought by authorities weren’t true, but his family endured suspicions about him for some time. His remains were finally discovered six months later in the rubble of Ground Zero near the north tower, his EMT bag close by.

Having lived in New York since he was 1, Hamdani helped finance his education at Queens College by working part time as an EMT. Planning to study medicine, he served as a research assistant at Rockefeller University.

As if all that weren’t enough, Hamdani had become a cadet with the New York City Police Department. He certainly packed a lot in to his 23 years of life.

This is one of the many stories of Muslims victimized by the evil we witnessed on 9/11. The families of these people have grieved every day since then, just like those of all the others who died.

So, what if they decided to go to Ground Zero next year and offer public prayers for their loved ones on the 10th anniversary of 9/11? Would they be driven from this area because their Islamic faith enrages others?

Controversy over a proposed Islamic center a few blocks from Ground Zero suggests these poor people would not be welcome to mourn their dead. The hysterical mantra declares that since the attacks were committed in the name of Islam, permitting a place for Muslim worship so close to the site would be sacrilegious.

While the controversy has focused on the location of a building, the argument against the facility holds that Islamic religious practices are in no way appropriate anywhere near Ground Zero. Muslims choosing to pray at the site, therefore, would likely be equally upsetting.

I’ve been trading opposing comments with a woman on Facebook over this story for the past few days. I asked her if this Islamic center would insult the memory of the Muslims killed on 9/11.

“What about the Muslims that were killed on 9/11?” she responded. “We know 19 of them were terrorists.”

Pondering the fate of people like Hamdani, her vulgar reply sickened me. She must know that some of the innocent victims of 9/11 were Muslims, yet her first thought was to bring up the hijackers. Then to display her warped ignorance further, she wrote that Muslims in this nation “do not pledge allegiance to America.”

Hamdani wasn’t just someone who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Like many heroic first-responders that day, he gave his life helping others in the midst of a national crisis. If this doesn’t demonstrate the incredible love he had for his city and our country, what would?

Who, then, will be callous enough to kick grieving Muslims out of Ground Zero next year if they came to pay respects to those they lost? Who’s going to tell them that their diseased religious practice has no place within the incubation zone of this sacred area?

My guess is that no critic of the planned Islamic center wants to go this far. How could you inform a victim’s mother that she must keep her distance with her fanatical beliefs?

But that’s where the opposition against the center falls apart. Either Islam is not appropriate for Ground Zero, meaning these Muslim families wouldn’t be allowed to conduct public prayers there, or its presence would be permitted, meaning the Islamic center is acceptable. For if you can tolerate having Muslims practice their faith in the open at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, why should you be troubled by Muslims saying private prayers tucked away inside an office building several blocks away?

My heart goes out to everyone who lost a loved one on 9/11, but their anger in this case is woefully misdirected. Violent fanaticism led to these attacks, not religion. The terrorist group al-Qaeda is no more a subset of Islam than the Irish Republican Army is of Roman Catholicism.

Worse, these people’s pain is being manipulated by opponents of the Islamic center. These opportunists repeatedly spread lies about the planned facility to advance their bigotry against the Islamic faith.

Mohammad Salman Hamdani was just as patriotic as anyone else who died that day. To suggest his family members cannot honor his memory at Ground Zero in a religious manner of their choosing is both shameful and un-American. And to declare that an Islamic center located within a few blocks of the hallowed site would be a tribute to terrorism is a reckless distortion of the facts.

When confronted with how to treat minority groups, we Americans have often reverted to fear and prejudice. But time and again this has only led to misery, for both them and us. When will we ever learn

Jerry Moore is the opinions editor for Suburban Life Publications in Chicago's western suburbs. Contact him at (630) 368-8930 or jmoore@mysuburbanlife.com.

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